Traveling
by Rae666
Summary: Two worlds collide, both left in danger as Cal gets stuck with the Winchesters fighting to find his way home before both worlds are destroyed. Demons to left of them, Auphe to the right - and one very pissed off Niko desperate to get his brother back.
1. Chapter 1

_**Traveling**_

Summary: After witnessing something not quite possible, even for their line of work, Sam and Dean end up having to put up with a tag along until they can find out a way to send him back home. After all, how hard can it be to send twenty year old Cal Leandros back through a portal to his alternate universe without risking both worlds crashing in on each other? Demons to left of them, Auphe to the right… and one very pissed off Niko desperate to get his brother back.

Disclaimer: This is written completely in fun and no infringement is intended. I own neither Cal Leandros or anything associated with the series, nor do I own Supernatural.

Warning for bad language.

A/N: I have two other on going stories at the moment, I know, I'm sorry. But ask anyone and they'll tell you I'm obsessed with Cal Leandros at the moment. I must have bought Nightlife over a year ago now and fell in love with it and Cal but have only recently managed to catch up with the rest of the books in the series (well, nearly - I'm halfway through book four Deathwish at the moment). But the point is - Cal is unbelievably awesome and Rob Thurman is a woman who truly knows how to tell a amazingly good tale with the perfect type of characters that will drag you into the world she created without any kicking or screaming (lots of squeeing, yes... lots of that). If you haven't read the books - I'd recommend them to anyone and most definitely fellow Supernatural fans. I just hope I can do her amazing characters justice... I've never been so scared about posting a story before. But here goes...

*****

_Chapter 1_

"You wanna tell me why we're here again?" Dean raised a challenging eyebrow at his brother as he paused in his movements. He knew why they were there. He'd heard it over and over again. Some creature had torn apart a couple of people in this very same park within the last week and due to the nature of the attacks – bloody, ragged claw marks and barely enough of the bodies left to identify the victims – the brothers, meaning Sam, had decided that it was their type of thing.

Dean wasn't arguing with that. In fact, Dean was right there with him. The part that he didn't get was why the hell they were in the same park at night… with no clue as to what had been doing the killing – or more aptly, the maiming. He highly doubted that his 45, tucked in the waistband of his jeans, and the sawed off shotgun, currently tapping against his right thigh, was going to be enough to stop this thing. So why Sam thought it would be an excellent idea to try and catch a glimpse of the thing – the monster, the killer, the maimer and destroyer – would be a good idea, was beyond him.

"Because if we don't know what it is, then we can't stop it. And claw marks and a few half-mutilated bodies aren't exactly much to go on being that I can think of ten different creatures off the top of my head that would kill like that." Sam heaved an exasperated sigh and raised his own eyebrow at Dean, challenging right back.

"So we're playing the bait?"

Sam shook his head in response, though Dean knew he wasn't answering the question but instead showing his frustration, and turned away, back to patrolling the park. "Soon as we see this thing, we're gone."

"Sure, unless it sees us first." Ever the optimist. That was Dean Winchester. With their run of luck though, no one could really blame him. Pushing forward, he kicked a stone across the grassy area and watched as it skipped, bounced and then skidded off somewhere to be consumed by the shadows. It was about the only movement that there was to be seen, well unless you counted the rustling of leaves as the wind whispered through the trees.

He looked up at them, watching the greens and reds dancing, summer quickly turning to autumn. But yep, aside from Sam and him, those were the only other things in the entire stinking park that were moving. Maybe that's what they were dealing with -something out of a sci-fi movie gone wrong, killer trees from beyond the stars. But he brushed the idea from his mind. It wasn't safe to daydream about things like that after all, especially not when some deadly killer could jump down from the cover of those leaves and rip you apart before you could even blink.

He opened his mouth, tempted to bitch and whine some more. But there was an almost silent hiss and pop in the air, so quiet that if it hadn't been the dead of night in the middle of some out of the way hick town, he was sure he wouldn't have heard it. Then there was the sudden appearance of shadows in front of him and Sam, stretched across the ground as if a light had suddenly been turned on behind them. But there were no streetlights in this area of the park, the only lighting coming from the flashlights in their hands and from the light pollution that filtered in through the cracks in the trees. All the same, there were definitely shadows which meant, there was definitely a light.

He turned, seeing Sam doing the same from the corner of his eye, and raised his shotgun ready to aim and fire. But what he saw was definitely not what he expected. It _was _a light. A greyish turmoil of light. It hung heavy in the air before them, several feet away from where they stood rooted to the spot. That in itself wasn't so strange. No, what really made his skin crawl was the fact that it looked as through someone had pulled apart the very air itself, slicing through the particles and atoms to create a _thing_ of light that just hung there… staring at them.

No way. No freaking way. That couldn't be possible. Just what the hell was that thing? Dean had seen his share of freaky. He'd seen his share of a lot of things. But this was different.

"Sam…" he started, the question evident enough on his voice and in just that one name that he didn't need to actually say it.

"Yeah Dean, I see it." Judging by Sam's level reply, Dean figured his brother was about as clueless as he was but still, he couldn't stop himself from asking his next question even if he knew Sam wouldn't know the answer.

"What is that thing?"

Sam didn't even get a chance to reply though. His 'I haven't got a clue' remaining unsaid as something actually came tumbling out of the light. The same something was thrashing about wildly on the ground in front of it, rolling back and forth as the light began to fade, closing in on itself slowly… so slowly. But before it closed completely, the light revealed just enough so that Dean could make out that it wasn't a something – it was two somethings.

They grappled each other, each trying to gain the upper hand in a fight that they thought no one else was watching. Grunting, huffing, growling. And then finally, there was a scream. A loud, ear piercing screaming that sounded like the thing that had made the noise had broken glass and bone coating it's throat. Both forms fell lax. Then with a heave, the one beneath threw off the other and stood, bending long enough to retrieve something that looked like a goddamn short sword from the others stomach.

And it was as he stood, pulling the sword free from the bloody broken mess of flesh and who only knew what else, that Dean realised it was a kid. Well, technically a twenty year old looking kid, but a kid none the less. Skin as pale as his hair was dark, a slash down his cheek that Dean guessed had come from the dead creature on the ground. Dressed in black, the kid was breathing heavily, attitude and rage coming off in waves as he stared down at the dead thing with something so much more than hatred… The short sword wasn't the only weapon in his hands, a Desert Eagle sitting snug in his other hand and before Dean even realised that his own gun had lowered, the kid raised the Desert Eagle so it was pointing straight at Dean's head.

He didn't shoot though. His finger drawing back at the last second as his grey eyes flashed around his surroundings for the briefest of seconds before falling back to Dean and Sam. He drew in a deep breath and frowned, but didn't lower the gun. Not once did he lower the gun. Not once did he let down his guard. Even as he glanced behind him at where the light had been, even as he cursed under his breath… the gun never wavered.

"Where am I?" he asked, jaw clenching and eyes sparking with an emotion Dean recognised so clearly as worry, the need to be somewhere else, the need to get back to wherever the hell you had just been… such as back through a goddamn _gateway_ of grey light. Desperation. His finger flexed on the trigger but didn't pull.

"Hicksville, doorway to the twilight zone apparently," Dean grinned as he spoke, showing that he wasn't afraid of some punk ass kid with a pretty little toy.

The kid took another glance around at that, panic flitting across his eyes. "You're shitting me right? You're goddamn shitting me." His teeth clenched and his eyes studied the pair again, his grip on the gun tightening. "Tell me where the hell I am right this minute before I blow both your asses away."

Dean rolled his eyes. The kid wasn't stupid. Surely he could see that they had weapons too and no matter how good a shot he was, no matter how good he may be with a sword, there was no way he wouldn't end up injured himself. But again Dean saw it, the flash of desperation in his eyes. "I'm telling you kid – wherever you've came from and however the hell you got here – right now, you're in the middle of nowhere, Virginia."

"Virginia?" Disbelief… so much disbelief and horror in just that one word. It was a miracle that the kid didn't collapse where he stood, the way his impossible white skin went an even paler shade, realisation slapping him hard across the face. "No… that's not possible."

"We just saw you come tumbling from a rip in the air itself… I'm thinking it's pretty damn possible at this moment in time."

And finally the kid lowered his gun, hopelessness seeming to fill him as he spun on the spot, searching the area for proof that this place wasn't Virginia… searching for some tiny scrap of evidence. He wasn't gonna find it though. Being that Dean remembered passing the sign and border quite clearly. But who was he to deny the kid a moment or two of denial?

Sam took a step forward so he was slightly in front of Dean, weapons down, hands out and to the side to show he was no threat, and head lowered minutely. "Look, I'm Sam and this is my brother Dean… if you tell us what just happened, we may be able to help."

That definitely deserved a backhander across the chest and a low throaty grumble. "You're offering him help when we should be Christo'ing his ass? He's could be a demon for all we know."

In return, Sam glared at him, heaving a weary sigh. "He's just a kid Dean and he's…lost."

Lost. He's just a kid and he's lost. Just a kid who came tumbling through a goddamn light in the air with a Desert Eagle and mini sword as he, who is just a kid, slayed some creepy ass creature right in front of them… just a kid who couldn't believe that it was even possible that he was in Virginia. Lost… definitely goddamn lost.

"Nik…" The kid hadn't aimed the word at them but it got their attention anyway, and as he truly did take on the expression of a lost child as he turned and sprinted off towards the lightened sidewalk on the other side of the trees, Dean realised that it wasn't just a word. It was a name. And the way it was said… the anxiety behind it, the strangled hopelessness and pure need. A brother.

But the kid didn't hang around long enough for him to ask out loud. Hell, the kid was gone almost as soon as he turned away, running like he truly did know how to run… running like he had done it for all of his life. He did leave them a present though. The creature still lay there on the ground before them… dead, bloody and ugly as hell.

It could have been anything. But it wasn't like anything Dean had ever seen before. Moving closing, their flashlight beams crossed as the pair looked it over – white skin stretched across a bony frame, deadened eyes red like molten lava, teeth sharp and deadly – looking something akin to needles. It's ears were pointed and it's hands more like claws, the nails hard and as deadly as those horrible metallic teeth. Yep – ugly as hell.

It was also salted and burned before anyone else could happen across the scene. Well, wasn't that just an awesome night's work? He was sure he'd wake up tomorrow thinking it had all been some crazy dream…

*****


	2. Chapter 2

_**Traveling**_

Summary: After witnessing something not quite possible, even for their line of work, Sam and Dean end up having to put up with a tag along until they can find out a way to send him back home. After all, how hard can it be to send twenty year old Cal Leandros back through a portal to his alternate universe without risking both worlds crashing in on each other? Demons to left of them, Auphe to the right… and one very pissed off Niko desperate to get his brother back.

Disclaimer: This is written completely in fun and no infringement is intended. I own neither Cal Leandros or anything associated with the series, nor do I own Supernatural.

Warning for bad language.

A/N:Hey guys! A quick update - curse of having a new idea on your mind. Anyway, first things first - I've been thinking, even though this story will be completely AU to both sets of brothers, it's probably still best to set a sort of timeline. So I'm gonna say season 2 Supernatural (as I wanna keep things relatively easy for me) and about towards the end of book 3, Madhouse, for Cal and co. But please forgive me if I slip as I have the memory of a goldfish at times. Secondly, I have come to the conclusion that trying to capture the 'essence' (for lack of a better word) of characters from TV is so different to characters from the written world... and it's still so damn scary.

This chapter is from Cal's POV. So yeah, scared doesn't quite cover how I feel at the moment.

Thank you guys so much for reading!

*****

Chapter 2

Virginia? Virginia?!? How the… No. That didn't matter. The how could wait and it would wait however long it took me to get back to Nik. Jesus. Fuck. Words didn't even cover it. Not even the bad kind. Because no matter how I looked at it, last I saw of Nik was on the other side of the gate. The other side which had been New York. Not Virginia. I mean, you've gotta be shitting me… Fucking Virginia? How far away was that from New York anyway? Too far. That's how far. Too damn far when we'd been in the middle of a goddamn Auphe attack. Yeah, yeah… so it had only been one Auphe, the same one that had brought me here, but that didn't mean there couldn't be more. Didn't mean there _wouldn't_ be more.

"Goddamn it Cyrano…"

When that Auphe had come, I thought it was going to try and kill you Nik. But it was just playing with us. Like always. Always playing with us. With me. And I was stupid enough to slip through with it… to fall through the gate it created. Idiot. I could practically feel Niko swatting the back of my head for losing my footing so easily. I'd have even accepted the punishment of a ten block run if it meant I was there with him now. And I know I've already said but it does bear repeating – Virginia? Goddamn fucking Virginia?

It wasn't what I had expected. I have to admit that. I expected cold air biting at my skin, so thin that I could barely breathe, and dirt beneath my hands. A place so cold and terrifying that only the Auphe dared go there. Hell, or at least Auphe Hell – Tumulus that is. The place that the Auphe had stolen me away to for two years. Only it'd only been two days here on Earth. Two days, two years – it was too long either way. At least I had the easy part, I'd forgotten everything. Niko, he'd been waiting there outside a burned down trailer for two days – waiting for me. And when I did come back, we ran.

Kind of like what I was doing now. Running. Running as far away from that dead Auphe as I possibly could. It was only luck that I killed it, I know that. I'm cocky but I'm not stupid. Though Nik may disagree at times. But hand to hand combat with an Auphe? You'd be lucky to survive let alone actually kill the nightmare bastard. It would rip your heart out and devour it right in front of your dying eyes before you even managed to tap it with whatever pig stick you were trying to use on it.

Short sword and Desert Eagle still in my hands – I'd learned long ago to keep a good grip on my weapons – I turned into the first dark alley I saw and immediately started think gate. Probably one of the only gifts that wonderful homicidal maniac of a father had given me when he'd passed the Auphe genes onto me, with the kind help of Sophia of course. As long as there was gold involved, she didn't care what sort of monsters she slept with. But right now, if those Auphe genes were the only thing I had to get back to Niko, then I'd take it.

So I thought Auphe. I thought gate. And I thought home. Home where Niko was waiting for me.

I'd promised Niko no more gates, no more traveling. I'd gotten too good at it. It had become too easy, far too easy. But I had to get back to him. The gate however disagreed – or at least whatever part of me it was that created the gates. As this time… I got nothing. Not a goddamn thing. Not a tingle of a headache. Not a whisper of the darkness. No blood. No light. No fucking gate. Well that was different. Annoying as heck but certainly different.

After putting the gun back into its holster and sliding the sword out of sight I dug into my pocket and pulled out my cell, bringing up Nik's name. I had to keep thinking that he was okay, that no more Auphes had joined the party. So I pushed away the burning and terrifying lingering doubt and reminded myself that Nik was a Buddha-loving, ass-kicking ninja who could look after his ass a lot better than I could look after mine.

But you know what the wonderful thing about small towns is? You know what really is the icing on the cake to being dropped off in the middle of nowhere? I mean, besides the whole being unable to open a gate back home and probably having the cops on your ass quicker than you could say 'mother-fucking crap-hole of a town' – courtesy of those guys back at the park, no doubt, I just hoped they held off calling the sheriff long enough for me to get hidden and hidden well. But as I was saying – what really tops all that off is having no signal.

Like my night couldn't get any worse.

Anyone else would be wearing a hole in the carpet as they paced back and forth, panicking as they waited in hope for their brother to return. Not Nik though. He'd be sitting there is some crazy ass yoga style position, waiting with the patience of the great Ghandi and the cold fury of Genghis Khan. But it would tear him apart just as much as the next person, even if he didn't let it show. After all, I couldn't be the only one thinking that the gate led to Tumulus. Somehow, I had to let him know.

From my dark alley, I looked out across the street and at the diner facing me. There was a light on in the back where the kitchen probably was, but otherwise it was as empty and dark as the alley. A quick glance at my watch told me it would probably be a good few hours before the place opened up and the payphone inside became available if it was anything like the places in New York. But then a second and longer glance told me that my watch had stopped. It was bound to happen eventually. But the fact that it happened at a time like this, well shit… that's just how lucky I am.

But let's just say that sometimes the universe has a habit of balancing things out. I only had to wait an hour for the diner to open. And considering the day I was having so far, an hour wasn't all that bad. Not that it was a sign that my day was going to get any better. That would be too much to ask. Me, Cal Leandros, unlucky son of a bitch and then some. That was proven not ten minutes later when I tried to call Niko's number.

I thought at first that maybe I'd hit the wrong button, pressed the seven twice instead of just once. Maybe I hadn't been concentrating or maybe I hadn't read the number right – even though I'd known it by heart not one minute after he'd gotten it. But the second attempt was no better. A female voice on the other end telling me that the number does not exist. Not that the line was busy or anything like that. But that it doesn't exist. See what I mean about my luck?

'Course I blamed the payphone – which by the way, still ate my quarters even though I couldn't make my call – and dropped down into the booth beside it with an exhausted and weary huff. I checked my cell again just in case but the signal was still dead and the battery was threatening to join it. All good batteries go to heaven. All unlucky son's of bitches go to Virginia.

Nancy, the waitress whose smile and cheerfulness should have been illegal for this time of day, came over to offer me coffee – or something that was disguised as coffee, and if you added just enough sugar, nine or ten spoonfuls, you might be able to delude yourself into believing it was coffee. I took it all the same. The caffeine might help my two or three neurons spark just enough for me to form an idea or if I was lucky, which we've established I'm not, a relatively coherent plan.

When she asked if I wanted some food, I took the opportunity to bitch at her about the phone that refused to put my call through. Not once did that smile waver. It was scary. She must have had needles holding that thing in place 'cause when I bitch, I bitch… just ask Nik. So needless to say that when I stopped bitching and she informed me kindly that there was a payphone near the public library, I didn't order any food. Didn't want to risk her spitting in it, or dropping it on the floor several times before actually serving it to me.

I nursed the brown sludge for awhile – was half way through it before I saw the first few streaks of light from the morning sun creeping over the low buildings. And I was about four mouthfuls away from finishing it when I saw the two men from before climbing out of some old black car, bickering like a couple of old ladies. I froze. I shouldn't have. Niko would have kicked my ass for it. But in fairness I hadn't expected to see them again, or maybe it was just that I hoped I wouldn't. Humans were always so awkward when it came to monsters and non-humans.

I didn't stay frozen though. I'd been taught better than that. Wear the deer in the headlights expression for too long and you'll be joining that deer on some car roof as you roll along, waiting to be eaten. Throwing down a few bills on the counter, I left the sludge alone and slipped from the booth and all but ran from the diner. If they saw me as I headed in the opposite direction, well away from them, they didn't acknowledge me. And if they thought it was suspicious that I gained a little speed as I dashed back into the privacy of another dark alley, they didn't chase me or call out for me.

But as with most tedious things, they were the least of my worries. The oh-so familiar voice calling my name told me that much. Like an icy cold hiss on the air and the images of claws and needle teeth that came with it. I could practically feel it breathing down my neck, it's molten eyes solely on me as it hung in the darkness, sitting waiting on the fire escape for me to look up at it. "Caliban, cousin…" it's voice felt like broken glass inside my ears but I turned to face my monster all the same, Desert Eagle out and ready. "You're not supposed to be here."

Damn right I'm not supposed to be here. But here I am all the same. Not that my being here really mattered to the Auphe. It seemed more amused and curious by my presence than annoyed which meant the other Auphe hadn't expected me to go tumbling through with it.

"Poor, lost Caliban. How will you ever get home from here?" It didn't care. It was just mocking me. Enjoying my predicament. I could tell though, in it's cold gaze, it really didn't think I'd be able to make it back home. Traveling seemed to be out of the question, the gate from earlier being a failure. But I knew how to take the bus. I wasn't completely hopeless without my big brother holding my leash.

It probably would have said something else if its eyes hadn't flashed towards the end of the alley. I didn't need to look to see why. I'd heard the footsteps mere moment before. I'd also heard the familiar sound of guns being drawn but before they could be fired, the Auphe somersaulted backwards and into a gate. I just had to pray, to what I don't know as God is right up there with Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny on my list of things I don't believe in, that it wasn't headed to wherever Niko was.

My gun was lowered as I turned to face the men from before and they put theirs' back out of sight. It was the shorter of the two who spoke – short than the other guy at least, he was still a good inch or so taller than me.

"Anyone ever tell you, you've got trouble written all over you, kid?"

*****


	3. Chapter 3

_**Traveling**_

Summary: After witnessing something not quite possible, even for their line of work, Sam and Dean end up having to put up with a tag along until they can find out a way to send him back home. After all, how hard can it be to send twenty year old Cal Leandros back through a portal to his alternate universe without risking both worlds crashing in on each other? Demons to left of them, Auphe to the right… and one very pissed off Niko desperate to get his brother back.

Disclaimer: This is written completely in fun and no infringement is intended. I own neither Cal Leandros or anything associated with the series, nor do I own Supernatural.

Warning for bad language.

A/N: This took longer than I wanted to update and I know you probably expect it to be Cal and the Winchesters, but I had to see Niko's side of things. So this is from his POV and I've been working on back to the others whilst writing this. Anyway, was with my previous chapter, I'm still scared as hell but I'm slowly finding my feet. Thank you so much for reading and for the awesome encouragement I have received so far. Leandros brothers rule! As do the Winchesters!

*****

Chapter 3

The first time I watched my brother disappear through a gate, he was being dragged through it by the things we once called Grendels – the monsters under our bed, outside our windows and in Cal's case, in his genes. We learned just over a year ago that they were also known as the Auphe. As old as time itself, they had once been at the top of the food chain until the humans came along, populating the planet and taking it over in the blink of an eye. That didn't mean the Auphe weren't still top of the food chain, it just meant that the ratio of human to Auphe was far greater. So naturally the Auphe wanted it all back – back the way things had originally been.

The second time had been when that bastard Darkling had slithered his way into my brother. All those years of running and they had finally caught us. Only they could have really caught us at any time. They were just waiting for the right moment – the moment that Cal physically matured. If they had been waiting for mental maturation then maybe we would have stood a chance. Part of me wishes I could forget those little run ins with Darkling – the way he had used Cal as a puppet. I still remember with pure clarity the warmth of Cal's blood on my hands and the way my blade had slid far too easily into him.

But he came back. As cocky and full of snark as ever. That was Cal all over – a hell of a lot stronger than he gave himself credit for. A hell of a lot smarter too.

First time he created his own gate, it scared me. But it got me thinking. If he needed it, an emergency exit could be useful. I changed my mind on that soon enough. Gates were dangerous… _are _dangerous. He agreed with me. Took his time to see that it wasn't worth risking his life but he got there eventually.

And now… now he had disappeared through another gate, one that was Auphe made. And I was too late to stop it. I waited for an hour for him to return. If he had slipped through to Tumulus, he could still travel back. He could make his own gate back here. No matter what anyone else would try to tell me, I knew he had to make his way back. He's my brother. My reason for being. I couldn't lose that. I can't…

When the time was up, I decided to take a more active approach. My feet pounded on the pavement as I ran full force towards a familiar setting – a small ice cream parlour. Maybe she wouldn't tell me. Maybe she would leave it to fate because that was Georgina. She told you the small things but when it came to the larger things that she thought couldn't be changed, she kept them to herself. I just prayed that she would answer me when I asked.

When he hadn't come back, I immediately thought of her. When Goodfellow had been in trouble, Cal had come to her in order to find where he was and she had told him - so she had to tell me where Cal was now. Because he wasn't… gone. He couldn't be gone. I would know if he was… I'd feel it. After all these years, I would know right?

"He's not here," she said simply when I pushed open the door and entered silently. The place was empty apart from Georgina and the old man that owned the place. I wasn't surprised, it was early yet. I had been pushing my luck by coming this early and yet here she was all the same, waiting for me. She had probably known before I did that I would come – such was the strength of her ability. But I had hoped all the same that she would be here – the place where people always came when they needed to see her, when they needed to ask her a question or have their minds eased. She never asked for anything in return, just simply suggested that her customers purchase something from the store. She was the reason the place was still in business.

"He's not there either," she went on, shaking her head gently before I could ask my question. I slid into the booth and studied her from across the table. Her brow was creased but her skin was warm and soft as she touched my hand, reassuring me. She didn't know where 'there' was. She didn't know that it was Auphe Hell. But she knew all the same that it wasn't where Cal was. Like I said, that was Georgina – simply knowing. "You'll get him back."

I felt my lip quirk only ever so slightly and allowed my eyes to drop a fraction. "I thought you didn't allow yourself to look at things like that."

"I don't need to look to know that you _will_ get him back." She said it in such a way that I felt like pushing my luck just that little bit more and so I leaned forward, staring into her as I pleaded with my eyes and my words. She had to see how desperate I was. She had to know just how much this was tearing me apart. Losing him once was bad enough, twice had me wanting to join him and now this? She had to see that.

"It would help if you told me where he is." She looked away at that and I felt her hand go oddly still over mine. She wasn't going to tell me. I should have known better than to ask. But who else could tell me? Who else possibly have that kind of knowledge or power? I removed my hand from under hers and still I pushed. "This is Cal…" As if that would mean something to her. As if it would sway her mind completely. She knew it was Cal, the boy – the _man_ – she cared so deeply about.

But Cal was right. She was too stubborn in her nature. It was why he had pushed her away. And it was why she wouldn't tell me where he was.

"I'm sorry, Niko." Her voice was so soft and gentle, so calm, that you wouldn't think she was saying no to such a desperate plea. I nodded and stood up without another word. The only thing that stopped me from breaking down and taking everyone with me was the knowledge that Cal wasn't in _that_ place. And if he wasn't there, then I would be able to get him back. I had to be able to get him back.

"Thank you, Georgina," I said with my back to her, hand on the door to leave. It was strained and some might not have known why I was thanking her in the first place if she refused to help me. And whilst that was true, whilst I felt my chest aching knowing that she outright refused to just look and tell me, she had at least given me a spark of hope. And that was why I thanked her. It wasn't much but it was enough to allow me to go on.

It was enough to get me to Goodfellow's.

I could have gone to Promise. I know she would have had no quarrel with using her contacts in order to find Cal. She would have also been a lot more sober and the air of her apartment would not have been laced with the lingering stench of alcohol. But as much as I knew Promise would want to help, Goodfellow was more likely to know someone who knew a thing or two. He could wallow in self-pity after we had Cal back.

With my blade resting just below his chin, he grunted and pushed it away with a simple wave. I let him. If only because I knew it meant he would help. He knew what Cal was to me. He knew the lengths I would go to in order to save him. And as I was more than capable of wielding a blade, he knew that I was dangerous if pushed. I was dangerous even without being pushed but when it came to Cal, I saw no grey, no black or white… I simple saw red.

"He's well past needing a babysitter," he all but growled out, still so very angry and still so very much wallowing in mistakes he had made long before Cal or I was born – long before many of our ancestors were born even. "As am I."

"That being said, Goodfellow, he is my brother and he's missing." I lowered my blade and watched as he moved from the couch toward the kitchen. I followed closely, ready to grab the bottle from his hand before he had chance to pour another glass of alcoholic poison. Snatching it smoothly from his loose fingertips, I put it back down on the counter with a little more force than was probably good for the glass but aside from a hard thump, nothing was broken. "According to Georgina he is neither here nor there which makes no sense whatsoever and as you pride yourself on knowing _people_ perhaps one of them could tell me what that means for Cal."

"Perhaps," he agreed as if I hadn't just taken the bottle from him. He reached for another and managed to pour himself some of, what was probably, the most ridiculously priced wine in the history of wine. I shook my head and looked away. "Or perhaps they would rather stick needles into their own eyes or use that weapon of yours to slice off their own tongues."

"I'm sure with some _persuasion_ they would be more than willing to help." I raised my eyebrow at him, my emphasis on the word persuasion letting him know that I was not above using my methods on him even if he was a friend. He had seen what I could do with my katana firsthand.

With his lips touching the rim of the glass, he let go of a sigh. His breath fogged up the surface partly but it was clear again by the time he placed it back on the counter without draining a single sip. The cunning green eyes of a fox, that usually held as much mischief as the swagger he walked with, were dimmed and distant. Sad. It wasn't my threat that bothered him. Even drunk he could more than likely at least hold his own against me.

"To the Ninth Circle," he declared lazily with a lethargic punch of the air. The Ninth Circle being the bar that Cal worked at when he wasn't getting into trouble with the Auphe or complaining about our latest 'case' that Promise had handed us for our supernatural detective business. And considering how slow business was, we needed the extra money. It was a bar for non-humans and should a human accidentally walk into it, they had better be able to defend themselves.

I took a glance around the room at the numerous empty bottles before letting my steely grey eyes land on Goodfellow. "It's time to sober up, not restock."

He muttered something under his breath in a language old and foreign, no doubt a derogative remark aimed at me. His eyes met mine, some of the familiar sheen now once again seeping back in. "You have more in common with that uneducated brother of yours than you know sometimes. You want to know where Caliban is, right? Well, if someone is talking about it where better to listen in than at the Ninth Circle?"

*****


End file.
